Zero's smile fell, slipped clean off his mask as if a giant hand reached down from the clouds and brushed it away - flittering birds carrying the remains of joy from the wrinkles near his eyes up up and away. He stared after their imaginary bodies, a small crystal tear forming in the corner of his eye. Were they going to take away his joy and give it to his mother? He wished they wouldn’t. His mother would be angry. She would be proud if the birds brought a smashed skull instead. He imagined smashing this mare’s skull and sending it wrapped in maple leaves, but the thought faded quickly. He was the hero remember? Not a monster. He would only be the monster when his mother told him to be. Thinking of his mother, Zero began to grow anxious. His chest rattled with nerves as his heart began to beat faster and faster in his chest. thud thud. He could hear the blood in his ears; deafening him with its intrusive pounding. His muscled tensed and he gritted his teeth as if he could clamp down on his own nerves and stop the flow of anxiety in his veins. But his heart continued to pound, growing louder and louder until he could no longer withstand the beat. The rhythm through him into an imagined delirium, a deep cadence of inescapable hysteria just over the horizon. He imagined the beating of his heart as a war gong- calling the warriors out to battle to meet upon the peak of the Kthulu hill at dawn were much bloodshed would occur. The light grew dimmer to his eyes and he turned back to the mare, a savage expression gripping the reluctant softness of his features. His lips curled up in triumph as he stood his full height, unobservantly throwing the tassels of stray gray hair out his eyes in one fluid motion.

"The blood stains my face, can you not see? I am prepared for war, now leave me to contemplate my fate” he said in a distant voice, as if he spoke to a mirror while fixing his ruffled collar. His eyes darted back to the mare, and with an air of desperate regality he warned her of the impending doom. ”If you are not a nymph then you must be a sprite, and I'm glad I found you because I have been told to warn all the people of this land that there is a battle coming and you must evacuate immediately!" he said in one breath, all the words strung together with a mighty enthusiasm. He kept nodding his head as he spoke and fluttering his deep crimson and nutmeg orbs, pupils contracting wildly every time his lashes braced his soft pallid flesh. Zero had failed to listen to the mare's whole sentence, rudely interrupting her before she could finish. But then he paused and retracted his stance, and with a bow of submission he apologized. "How rude of me for interrupting the young sprite, please, what means of punishment do you wish on me?" But then he recalled she had given him her name and he was suddenly intrigued by the oddness of her two names. He looked at her through the curtain of his silver forelock, a childish glint in his eye. "Why do you have two names? Did your parents not agree on one?" He looked at her inquisitively, proceeding to lower himself on his knees, as if settling in for a story. And he expected one, but maybe she was shy. He had been told that sprites where shy around stallions. So he began to sing, softly cooing the sprite from its depths out into the open. His voice was eerily haunting, a slow rhythm that interwove the many octane’s of his tone. He sung it low, half under his breath in fear of frightening the sprite away.

” If only, if only, the woodpecker sighs, The bark on the trees was as soft as the skies, As the wolf waits below, hungry and lonely, He cries to the moon, If only, if only.” Zero shivered as the last note hung delicately between his lips, escaping with a low hum into the trance of the tense atmosphere. He looked over the nymph, examining her for any signs of sudden movement that would tell him she was going to disappear into thin air before he could say goodbye. The foghorn sounded in his mind, and he felt a deep urge that pulled at him every time he broke the gaze he held so dearly. It called him to war, announcing the enemies had breached the first line of soldiers, our valiant warriors! But he could not leave before he saw this sprite to safety. Unless she was one of them. Did the enemy use sprites to spy on the general? If so, then he would deal with her swiftly, breaking her neck in one clean snap. He visualized it in his mind and heard the crack of her bone beneath his hooves. He grinned.

Ooc; sorry for the wait- I’m glad you like Zero xD

N i p h o n a ?!

You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch
You really are a heel
You're as charming as a cactus as cuddly as an eel, Mr. Grinch!

Boy, was it freaks-go-out day today? First chased by a bunch of enraged ghosts for having a bit of a chuckle, and then this hag comes out to see me. She'd be pretty if she wasn't like an old worn out blanket with innards- you could see right through to the bone. A lone spider landed on my nose and I snorted and tried to flip it off. No, hold still! I heard, and then did so. I shivered lightly as my spirit proxy skittered out from wherever that old stick-in-mud was hiding before. The little leopard gecko slithered out onto my nose, and shot his tongue out, gulping down the little spidery thing.

He munched twice, and then licked his eyeballs.I shuddered. He did that alot, it was an annoying habit and I hated it. That tasted funky. he concluded after a while, then turned back to the strange creation of a ghost that stood in front of me. He c.ocked his head and looked at her. I suppose its no good talking in our heads, since you can read our thoughts, huh? he asked her. I glanced up at her. Really? No way! Thats extremely cool! Wow, this mare was getting better by the second. So many special surprises. I felt Islevar's discomfort as the Gecko licked his eyeballs again. Knock it off! I hissed. He did it again, and I sighed. You're not making this any easier, you stubby, bulgey-eyed snake!

It didn't take a genius to tell that Islevar was upset. Heck, a blind retard could tell. The way his tail lashed back and forth with every word this mare said. Hello, love. she said to me, and I shivered. Her voice was garbled, and sounded like something was strangling her. Heh, bet that you'd like living with her. So many spiders, so little time! I thought to myself, wondering if this mare could read minds. If she could, she might try to hurt me. I didn't care, I was a ghost. My life was locked in a stone far below the world, and no matter how many minds she could read, she never would get there.

Then Iselvar seized up, and I glanced over my shoulder. Ash rose into the air like a poison cloud, and a demonic horse descended on us in all his gory glory. Bones stuck out of him like a porcupine. He walked with a strange pace. Jeez... Cirque du Freaque is missing some members. And I shivered as Isle's tongue hit my ear. Watch your mouth, Niphona. He hissed, and I rolled my eyes. He must've crawled out of the same Hell this other bag of bugs did.

HA! Weakling, you should know better not to come into such lands. He growled at me, and I became angry. Islevar shivered at my anger. Hey, you smelly bag of bones! Who you calling weak?!?!? I snorted. Even though he couldn't kill me, I couldn't hurt him either. So it was really a stalemate.

Your heart is made of spiders
you've got garlic in your soul.
You're as cuddly as a seasick crocodile!

Proxy Name; Islevan
Species; Leopard Gecko
Color; Leopard-y.
Personality; Isle is the opposite of Niphona. A ghost as his companion, Isle is hard working and honorable. He completly detests the murdering of other life forms except in self defense. He thicks a lot and is quiet. When Nipho sings and laughs and plays tricks Isle is quiet and thinking about the bad things that'll happen. When Nipho becomes depressed, he cheers her up. He has a more serious outlook on things, and often warns Nipho of danger.
Abilities; Telepathy, Invisibilty.
Extra;

Z A F I N A
If you are going to murder anything . . .
Be it
THE LIGHT !


The universe was always connected by invisible chains, like a domino effect. Life was but a game of chess, one piece moves forth, then every piece around it is affected in one way. Move forward, protect one, die another way. These invisible chains were similar in reality, kill someone, their lover wants revenge. It was a never ending circle, just like life and death. There was always and entrance and exit, opposites. Someone would be cruel, another nice. There was a green forest, on the brink of becoming deceased. Then there was light and dark. They were but two words to describe the division between those who cherished life and those who destroyed it. Was there such a separation, or was it all in our heads? What was it like when you were dead, would you watch from above, or perhaps below, as the ghost bodies floated in the arctic ocean surrounding Zafina's castle. They had merely died, fell into the water and continued to overlap each other, mindlessly circling the castle perimeter. They only judged by the alliances actions. Was it possible for someone so kind and caring, have the ability to murder, or were they really classified by either being light or dark, never in the middle, never a small part of both. Zafina was raised to lie, cheat and murder. It was in her blood as it was in her personality. The sinister thoughts, all herald from her father, the need to dominate, the want to break the expectations of having stallions rule it all. It was but another opposite, stallion and mare. As life goes on, they all expect stallions to rule the world, and mares bow until their head touches the ground. It was different here, Zafina was female, born with dark blood and a sick and twisted mind. It seemed to be fate that she was given powerful magic, as if the world needed that. Even the hell god himself had enhanced her abilities. She had not bowed to him as other mares would. Zafina was always the enigma of dark, the one who had risen from the ashes. Altari was the opposite, and now vanished. Thinking of these opposites brought Elihu to mind. She seemed to be of both dark and light, but to what extent did that mean she was a murderer as she was a life giver?


"So they say." Zafina exhaled, her nostrils flaring. With the next inhale came the revitalizing, tantalizing scent of the ocean. Her lids closed as she breathed the scent that she had missed. "No . . . I think you had to see it to believe it." The words were but a guttural laugh, her lips turning up into a snarl as her teeth clashed together. Zafina took a brooding step forward, her shadow mimicking her movement. The queen paused again. Sometimes life's vital necessities were forgotten. Like how long she had been standing like a immobile statue carved from stone. Or the way her ribs would never rise or fall to her inhale and exhale, because honestly, she didn't need to breath. It was startling to know, she did not taste the ocean on her tongue, or she would sometimes hear nothing in attempts to drain out the flutter of one's heart beat. Then came the times when she could hear the blood racing through the veins of mortals. Those who needed to breathe in order to survive. Those who's chest rose and fell, without them noticing it. For days on end her mind was blank, she didn't need to think, but their mind was always a meddling raucous, simply fighting with themselves to find answers. The answers were so clear to Zafina. Archer seemed to have noticed her statue-like pose. Yet Zafina did nothing, she remained immobile, not even her mane swayed in the bitter breeze, nor did the water drip from her coat, even though it was ready too. Without warning, with no indication of movement, Zafina stepped forward, the puddle beneath her was repelled by her movement, instantly blending into the ice beneath it. She forced her lungs to move, tried to make herself seem real, yet it was quite ordinary. The stale air, rattling through her lungs, filling her with an unnecessary breath. Why did she bother? Why not be the freak she appeared to be? She did not care if their eyes noticed how she didn't need to breathe or blink. It was ironic how they had to do so much to keep alive, while here she stood, simply enjoying focusing on other more important things. Archer continued to talk and even though her gaze was elsewhere, she heard him. Her lip twitched at the sound of Medusa. The one she needed for a short period of time, to ensure her plans were not revealed.That girl was a menace, and needed to be destroyed. Or she would be on the same level as the other god's. The lands of ice were strongest. There was two who would not betray each other. Or so they thought. There was no sign of gratitude in her eyes or voice. She did not thank Archer for his welcome, for she didn't want it, didn't need it. She was back, they cared, but she didn't. She was here to cause chaos to those outside her realm. "Of course. Shouldn't they all?"


Her raspy laugh awoke the night, the sound echoing in an eerie fashion while her eyes flashed with disrespect. Mind reading was never her trick as it was her daughters, but things had changed, and Zafina decided to embrace her powers as they were, rather than ignore them. She dug into Archer's mind with impertinence. Her lip curling upward in interest. "The ghosts seem a little useless, don't you think?" Zafina turned away to approach the edge of the ice platform so she could gaze upon the waves of ghosts, her mysterious face portraying no emotion. "You came across to be as one who must see to believe." Zafina turned, the ancient shells in her mane rattling. "So I say, may you wait to see." The waves increased in momentum, the ocean breeze strengthened, now strong enough to send Zafina's mane flying into it's clutches. A rattling sound emerged from her body, as she dissolved into her shadow, curling and disappearing. There was a moments silence, just enough for Archer to discover she had vanished, but not for long, as the waves pounded at the side of the castle walls, so fiercely that the castle it's self rocked. The shadows over the land lengthened, she had dissolved into her shadow and moved across the platform of her castle before being reborn as an equine again. Now she was dry, the most part of her coat anyway. Her mane was damp, and unkempt, the shells seemed to be knotted rather than tied. "Sever your loyalty to me, if you want to know the answers you seek"